Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Dissenter

In the August issue of Ode Magazine, Jeremy Mercer writes an intriguing article, “In Praise of Dissent,” where he explores the importance of dissent on creativity, innovation, and social balance. In doing so, he enlists scientific studies that site the power of group think and the social stigmatism involved in going against the grain. Which is where the dissenter comes in. These individuals often experience anxiety over voicing an alternate opinion but feel compulsively compelled to do so anyway, causing themselves ridicule and dismissal by their social group. However, the group actually benefits, points out Mercer in quoting Charlan Nemeth, a psychologist involved in studies at University of Virginia,


“Dissent makes the group as a whole smarter and leads to more divergent thinking, but the people who stand up with those sorts of opinions often get beaten up for it.”


I began to think about how often dissenters are highlighted among these writings. St. Francis, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, the woman that created Kids Off the Block in Chicago, Gandhi, Jung, Buddha... What is it about dissent and faith that are so intimately entwined?


Mercer highlights the courage necessary in voicing dissent or a new perspective:


“By bearing the mental and physical stress of resisting orders or group pressure, dissenters freed others from the chains of blind obedience. The irony, of course, is that instead of being rewarded for this service, dissenters were unfailingly punished by their groups.”


It seems that same characteristic courage is what allows us to explore beyond the social conventions of our time whereupon we encounter the depths of faith. Indeed, we must explore beyond our relative social conventions to find the true heart of faith, which is trusting, loving, and all-pervasive; and nurtures the fulfillment of our highest potential.


In a December 2009 post I said: “Diversity is a gift. It is a means by which we help each other catch a glimpse beyond the veil of our own particular conditioned mind.”


The same is true for the dissenter. The person next to you that always asks “why”? They want an explanation for why things are done/said/believed the way they are, and might even have an idea about how it could be done differently. They happen to be the spark that ignites our inner fire so that we examine ourselves more fully, getting to know our fears and uncertainties without the safety net of “this is just the way it’s always been done.” Mercer gives vibrant examples: Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Galileo. One of the most necessary voyages of the faith-full is to the depths of their fear. Either you get to know the monster under the bed, or fear of the monster will rule your behavior, choices, and speech to the point of causing you, and those around you, considerable suffering.


However, a consequential phenomenon to be recognized is that once a dissenting opinion is accepted by the many, it eventually becomes absorbed into the veil or conditioning. That’s just how it goes. That is exactly why we must, as Jeremy Mercer suggests, foster the existence of our dissenters. We need them in order to constantly maintain the balance and creative impulses of our societies which are also necessarily based on a certain amount of conforming to exist at all. (Mercer points out that we all agree the red road light means stop.)


I would also suggest that we foster the dissenter within ourselves. The voice or feeling that nudges us when we’ve said something false or acted in a way that is against our inner truth, whether it be socially appreciated or not. This kind of vigilance and courage grows faith like a vine, pervading all the dark corners and blooming flowers out in the world that we share.